Moyer does it all, on and off field Player of the Year 1992 ALL-ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY BOYS SOCCER TEAM

North County boys soccer coach Steve Malone says that Shawn Moyer's value to his team went "far beyond statistics."

How much further can a striker go than 24 goals and four assists, especially when playing on a sore right foot for most of the season?

"It was his experience and his leadership abilities, both on and off the field," Malone explains. "He did a lot of things by example. He was rah-rah when he had to be, and he led by example when he had to."

Mostly, he helped win games. Twelve of them.

Moyer, 17, The Baltimore Sun's Anne Arundel County boys soccer Player of the Year, seemed to come up big in every important game, in every crucial situation.

Moyer converted the penalty kick to defeat Old Mill, 3-2, in overtime during the regular season and repeated the scene in a 3-2 win over the Patriots in the region playoffs. He scored twice and assisted on another goal in a 5-4 overtime loss to Severna Park.

Yet, the lasting impression may be his second-half performance against Northwestern of Prince George's County in the state 4A semifinals. The Knights were losing, 3-0, to the quicker Wildcats after one half and seemed destined to be run off the field at Arundel High. But Moyer led a second-half charge with two goals the opening 15 minutes before the Knights succumbed, 4-2.

"Somebody needed to come out [after halftime] and give a spark," he said after the game. "I tried to do everything I could to give a boost."

He had been doing that all season.

"He's an outstanding ballplayer," said Chesapeake coach Earl Eckhardt, whose team lost to North County, 2-0, on goals by Moyer and Mike Hoskins. "He has the ability to be super-aggressive, but under control. He's the whole package, a super talent."

Imagine how good he could have been if healthy. He hurt his foot in the season's fourth game while scoring a hat trick in a 5-0 win over Northeast and never fully recovered.

It wasn't uncommon to see Moyer pick himself off the ground, grimacing and with a noticeable limp, and then suddenly burst downfield toward an opposing goalie. And he never made the trip alone. Coaches routinely assigned their best defenders to Moyer.

"We never really got my foot checked, but the trainer said it probably was a bruised bone," he said. "It would give me some soreness off and on and would be real tender when I kicked the ball. At times, it would be hard to walk on it.

"Once I got out there and played, I wouldn't think about it as much. Coach Malone would let me make the call."

His decision each time was to play.

Moyer is carrying a 4.0 grade-point average -- ranking first in his class of 331 -- and is a member of the National Honor Society. He was selected for the General Assembly page program for the 1993 session and hopes to study political science at Yale or the Naval Academy.